Good news for MLB: Canada to remove vaccine travel requirements
As the Toronto Blue Jays look to begin their playoff push, opposing teams will no longer have to worry about restricted travel when facing the team.
The Canadian federal government plans to end the COVID-19 vaccine requirement to travel into the country. The decision is not official, but they do plan for the new rule to start on Sept. 30. This lines up well for MLB with the playoffs beginning on Oct. 7, allowing players without the vaccine to participate in Toronto.
As of now, anyone trying to cross the border between Canada and the United States must have the vaccine. We’ve seen several players, such as Phillies stars J.T. Realmuto and Aaron Nola, being denied travel and prohibited from playing with their team against the Blue Jays.
Even the 2022 trade deadline felt the impact of the mandate. Utility man Whit Merrifield was sent from the Kansas City Royals to the Blue Jays. When the trade went down, there were concerns about how Merrifield would play since he did not have the vaccine. However, Merrifield did decide to get the vaccine after the trade.
This is why the mandate ending before the playoffs is so important. Teams like the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, and even the New York Mets have players who reportedly don’t have the vaccine. Yankee slugger Aaron Judge was originally thought to be unvaccinated, but the outfielder has been able to play in Toronto up to this point.
All in all, this is great news for MLB teams and their fans. Now that the playoff bracket is expanding to 12 teams and the Wild Card is a three-game series, fans will be given many more games this year. Allowing all players to enter Canada will certainly give those fans more excitement. It will also give teams full strength to battle the Blue Jays and chase a championship.
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